Mercedes, Record GT40 Head $220 Million Car Auction

A 1968 Ford GT40 racing car that once raced at Le Mans. It is estimated to sell for more than $8 million at a sale of classic cars held by RM Auctions in Monterey, California, on Aug. 17-18, 2012. It fetched $11 million. Photographer: Pawel Litwinski/RM Auctions via Bloomberg

Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Wealthy collectors paid record
prices for a Ford GT40 and rarities by desirable marques such as
Mercedes, Ferrari and Bentley in California’s classic car sales.

Gooding & Co., RM Auctions, and Bonhams sales ending last
night raised in excess of $220 million, 33 percent higher than
the $166.7 million generated in the bellwether West Coast sales
last year.

Classic cars, like art and wine, have been attracting
increased attention from wealthy individuals looking to
diversify their investment portfolios. Existing buyers, aware of
the worth of rare autos as a store of value in times of economic
weakness, are also looking to improve their collections.

“There was a unique number of important cars,” said
Dietrich Hatlapa, founder of the Historic Automobile Group
International (HAGI), whose Top 50 benchmark index of
exceptional classic cars has gained 8.2 percent in the year
through July. “The lineup was impressive, the prices were
strong.”

The most highly valued lot of the week was a 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster offered on the second day of
Gooding’s Aug. 17-18 sale at Pebble Beach. One of only 30 built,
and featuring the desirable “high-door, long-tail” styling,
the car had been tipped by dealers to rival the auction record
of $16.4 million set by a Ferrari Testa Rossa at the same venue
last year.

Mercedes Record

The Mercedes sold for $11.8 million with fees, underlining
the more selective market for high value prewar cars. The price
was nonetheless the highest of the week and a record for the
marque at auction. A 1935 Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Coupe,
formerly owned by the Hollywood star Clark Gable, was estimated
at more than $9 million and failed to sell.

One of only nine alloy-bodied long wheelbase versions made,
it sold for $11.3 million against a valuation of $7 million to
$9 million.

A comparable LWB “competition” California Spyder was sold
by Gooding two years ago for $7.3 million.

“The prices of the rarest Ferrari road cars from the 1950s
and 1960s have really moved up,” Hatlapa said. “The marque
continues to lead the market.”

RM achieved $8.6 million for a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB
California Spyder and $8.25 million for a cream-colored 1955
Ferrari 410 S Berlinetta at its Aug. 17-18 sale at Monterey.

American Record

The two-day event raised $96 million with 90 per cent of
the 120 offered cars finding buyers, said RM. Twenty cars sold
for more than $1 million, the Canadian-based company said.

A 1968 Ford GT40 racer was the star lot at RM, selling on
the first day for $11 million -- a record for any American auto
at auction.

The Gulf/Mirage, finished in trademark powder blue with a
marigold stripe, was estimated to fetch more than $8 million.
The car had been raced by Jacky Ickx at Daytona and Le Mans
trials in 1968. It was later used as the camera car in Steve
McQueen’s 1971 film “Le Mans.”

Earlier on Aug. 17, a restored Ford GT40, formerly owned by
the Bolivian tin magnate Jaime Ortiz-Patino, sold for $2.2
million on the second day of a Bonhams auction of classic
motorcycles and cars at Quail Lodge, Carmel.

Valued at $2 million to $3 million, the car had been driven
by Ortiz-Patino’s godson, Dominique Martin, at Monza and
Hockenheim races in 1969 before being damaged by fire.

McLaren Racer

The most highly valued lot at Bonhams was a 1997 GTC Gulf
Team Davidoff McLaren F1 GTR racer, again featuring powder blue
and marigold livery. Estimated to raise as much as $5 million,
it failed to sell in the salesroom and found a buyer shortly
afterwards for $3.85 million with fees, Bonhams said.

The London-based auction house raised $10.3 million from
successful bids in its Aug. 16-17 auction. Buyers were found for
about 50 per cent of its 97 cars. Elsewhere, Mecum Auctions
achieved $5.5 million for a 1972 Porsche L&M 917/10 Spyder raced
by Can-Am Champion driver George Follmer at a three-day sale in
Monterey on Aug. 16-18.

(Scott Reyburn writes about the art market for Muse, the
arts and culture section of Bloomberg News. Opinions expressed
are his own.)

Muse highlights include John Mariani on wine and Hephzibah
Anderson on books.